


Spy Date

by GintaxAlvissforever



Category: Lux-Pain
Genre: Awkward Dates, Bullying, F/M, First Dates, Friendship, M/M, One-Sided Attraction, One-Sided Relationship, Original Character(s), Unresolved Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-11-21
Updated: 2012-11-21
Packaged: 2017-11-19 05:53:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,187
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/569856
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GintaxAlvissforever/pseuds/GintaxAlvissforever
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Annoyed that Ryo won't help him out protecting his sister, Hibiki drags Atsuki to spy on Kotoru's date with Sano...Chaos assumes...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Spy Date

**Author's Note:**

> Spy Date
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own Lux Pain. However I do own Kotoru, Sano, Serena, Kotobi, Rinoa, Kouji, Calum Rinse and her three friends Zepher, Kenny and Arai.
> 
> Summary: Annoyed that Ryo won't help him out protecting his sister, Hibiki drags Atsuki to spy on Kotoru's date with Sano. At first Atsuki tags along because he thinks that Hibiki is planning something, but as the day goes on, he sees another side of Hibiki that he refused to acknowledge before.
> 
> Pairing: Atsuki/Hibiki and Sano/Kotoru (OC/OC) with hinted Ryo/Hibiki
> 
> Rated: T (for teen)
> 
> Genre: Romance, Friendship, Humor and some Drama
> 
> Warning: Swearing, shonen-ai, suggestive themes and unintentional OOC
> 
> Well, when I first got Lux Pain, I thought because Hibiki was part of the group, they would give him an archive scene. The only archive scene he got was the one with Ryo which was character development for him. Otherwise, he doesn't have one with Atsuki like he should have. I mean, they put a LOLICON pairing (Atsuki/Nami) for eight of the archives. That pissed me off because it's like they're trying to make Atsuki a pedophile. At least in the final archive, you can make Atsuki hint at liking anybody but Nami assumes it's herself. Oh well...anyways, this is what I'd do for Hibiki's archive. Just so you know, the options in this story are selected automatically. Enjoy.

"Come on Ryo! You got to come with me!"

Ryo Unami rolled his eyes. It was Saturday morning and his best friend Hibiki Kiryu was already pissing him off with his whining. The bookworm didn't get enough sleep and as a result was planning to sleep in late. However, he realized he had to work today and his co-worker Ai Handa wasn't going to be coming in since she was studying for her exams. As a result, he planned to open late and close early, but Hibiki was already at the front of Tohodo at 7:00 sharp.

"Not now Kiryu...I just woke up..."

The cyan haired teen pouted as Ryo continued to rearrange the books on the shelf.

"But Kotoru's life is on the line! If I don't do something, she's going to end up in an abusive relationship."

Ryo sighed. Hibiki was delusional when it came to his half older sister Kotoru Hino, the younger sibling of the nurse Honoka Hino, and going on a date with a man. For most of her life, she declared herself a lesbian and only had eyes for one girl Kotobi Shuchiwa. When she became the victim of last year's incident, Kotoru shut herself from the world and no was able to break her out of her shell. That was until her recent boyfriend Sano Etou manage to get her out of her shell and by opening her up again, she became the same determine girl she was before her girlfriend's death. It was obvious that Sano was perfect for her, but Hibiki refused to acknowledge Sano as Kotoru's protector.

"If you really care for her, why don't you go spy on their date yourself?"

"Etou is going to beat me up if he catches me spying on their date, so I need a bodyguard to protect me."

"Kiryu, ask someone else. I'm not cut for this stuff."

"But..."

Ryo went back to work. He had to ignore his bed friend for the greater good. Maybe he would give up on this idea.

"All right then..." He began. "If you won't go then the first person that walks in will be the one that will go with me."

The bookworm gasped. "You wouldn't."

"You won't go with me, so I'll just use my charms to get that person to go with me."

"Kiryu that isn't-"

Before Ryo could have a saying in his scheme, someone walked into Tohodo. Hibiki instantly hung onto the person asking him if he would take him out. The blue haired teen knew the plan wouldn't work because the probably of a girl walking in this early in the morning would be very high because they always wanted to come in and glance at him for whatever reason. If it was a guy, then they were both screwed.

The male did not respond. Ryo gawked as he eyed the cyan haired teen suspiciously. "Kiryu..."

The telepath looked up to see who he was glomping. It was none another than the transfer student Atsuki Saijo who appeared stunned at first when someone clung onto his arm that early in the morning, but then his face returned to its stoic look.

Hibiki chuckled nervously as he let go off Atsuki's arm. "Sorry...I was just playing around with Ryo."

"You call this playing around?" Ryo questioned in an exasperated tone. He turned to the silver haired teen. "So, why are you here? Its 7:15 and my store isn't even opened."

_Someone's cranky._  Atsuki thought to himself as he handed Ryo back a book. "I'm here to return the book you leant me last week. I'm busy tomorrow so I won't be able to give it to you then."

Ryo smiled. "Thanks Saijo. That's one book I don't have to worry about losing."

He turned to Hibiki. "What's your reason of being here."

"Actually..." The other telepath avoided eye contact with Atsuki. This was his chance to ask him. How reliable he would be when he spied on the date will have to wait until later. "I was wondering if you would help me out with something."

Ryo continued to look stunned. "K-Kiryu..."

Hibiki smirked as he turned to his friend. He clung to Atsuki's arm again as he continued to speak. "You wouldn't help me out in this life and death mission, so I'm taking Atsuki-chan with me."

An eyebrow twitched on Atsuki's part. "Chan?"

The blue haired teen didn't have any saying in this. Hibiki dragged Atsuki out of Tohodo and closed the door behind him. He fumed as he went back to his work. "Good riddance."

* * *

Hibiki dragged Atsuki in front of St. Maria Church. For a second, Atsuki felt like he was having déjà vu moment when he was in front of the moon-white building. He turned to Hibiki and lost his overall calm expression to glare at the other telepath. "What are you doing?"

The cyan haired teen forced a smile. "Sorry for dragging you out. I was serious when I needed help."

The black orbed student didn't trust him. "Oh really?"

"Atsuki-chan, I'm serious. Has Liu Yee convinced you that I'm sinister?"

_Not really, but the look you're giving me now will make anyone have their doubts._

Hibiki frowned as he stared at the ground. Atsuki thought it was odd when Hibiki put his hands around his back. He seemed nervous...

"It's my sister..." Hibiki began. "I'm sure you're aware that Kotoru and Etou are really close."

Atsuki put himself in listening mode again. Even former enemies had something to say.

"They recently hooked up and...I think he's planning to hurt her. I was going to spy on their date today, but Ryo wouldn't help me out. Etou is not to be underestimated...so I'm asking you to aid me in saving my sister from getting hurt."

A sweatdrop appeared behind the transfer student's head. "I really don't think..."

Hibiki's guard was down completely. Atsuki could feel the blue shinen swirling up inside of him. Now, he was certain that he wasn't infected with Silent, but he was dead serious about protecting the redhead kendo girl.

"I'll help you." Atsuki said with a groan. "Just put your shield back up. It's unnerving for me to be able to see what you're feeling easily."

The shinen instantly changed to pink surprisingly. It was strange. Whenever Atsuki commented the cyan haired teen and said the right thing, it would usually be a fluffy yellow shinen.

"Thank you Atsuki-chan."

_Again with the 'chan'..._  Atsuki thought to himself. Hibiki seemed determined now.

"Let's go! Sis said she wanted to go to Pumpkin Witch first!"

The FORT member found himself being yanked around by the ex-PHALANX member. If Liu Yee caught him hanging around his mortal enemy, then they both would have their minds eaten.

* * *

Atsuki was known for his great stalking skills in FORT. It came in handy for this mission. The silver haired teen has been here many times to speak to Mei-Lin and to check his relationship with his friends. While it seemed wrong for the cosplayer to use her powers to peek into his friends' hearts, it was easy for him to know that their friendship was mutual at least.

Hibiki was just as good at stalking. The gray haired teen suspected much. The two entered the store. Mei-Lin noticed Atsuki but before she could greet him, Atsuki made the finger gesture telling her to keep silent. She squealed as she went back to helping the couple.

"This is sooooooooooooo cute Sano!" Kotoru shrieked as she held up a female high school uniform from the Melancholy of Haruhi anime. "I want you to buy this."

The other redhead chuckled. "I don't have the money for that my prince."

Kotoru whined. "But you've been saving up for a while now. Wasn't it because of our date?"

"It was, but if I buy this now, then I won't be able to buy our lunch."

"But if we're eating at Club Royal, then it will be fancy food for a low price."

Sano groaned. Atsuki could see the blue shinen radiating from him.

"I guess I'm going to have to prostitute again..."

The redhead took the school uniform from his girlfriend who cheered. She hugged him tightly causing the other to blush madly.

"I love you Sano!"

"Yeah...you won't say that for another week..."

Atsuki could tell that Mei-Lin adored the couple. Both had pink shinen shining from their bodies. The atmosphere was perfect in the shop. The silver haired teen turned to Hibiki who could only smile sadly.

"Let's go Atsuki-chan..."

"But we just got here."

"I don't want to get caught..."

The two left the store before Kotoru could notice her brother.

* * *

"Hey Kiryu, wait up!"

Hibiki stopped running when he made it in front of TOYBOX. Atsuki cursed at Hibiki for having him run to the arcade of all places.

"Sorry Atsuki-chan, I realized I shouldn't have been spying them."

" _-red vein-_  That's what Ryo was trying to tell you!"

The math whiz nodded his head. "Yeah...I know..." His shinen became blue again. "Atsuki-chan...I know that Sano is a good person...but I don't know why I can't accept that. Do you know why?"

Hibiki was already giving him a difficult question to answer. The black orbed teen eyed the cyan haired teen hoping to get a hint at what he was expecting him to say.

_Kiryu obviously cares for his sister...but maybe..._

"Are you jealous of Sano?"

Instead of answering his question, he responded with another question. Hibiki seemed startled that his issue wasn't resolved. To the telepath's surprised, the other laughed.

"Uh...Kiryu?"

"Heh heh...I understand now."

"?"

"Maybe that's why I wouldn't accept Kotobi either..."

He smiled at Atsuki. "You didn't even have to read my mind to know what I was thinking deep down. No wonder FORT cherishes you."

Atsuki had no idea what the ex-PHALANX member was talking about, but not being able to understand was driving him crazy. "Hey..."

"I'm fine now. Since I have you to myself all day, why don't I take you somewhere?"

Atsuki didn't like where this conversation was going. "I have something to do..."

Hibiki clung to his arm again. This time though, the telepath felt his cheeks lighting up. Did this guy have no sense of personal space?

"I want to hang out with you today. After all, someone else always snatches you away."

Atsuki cursed him as Hibiki dragged him elsewhere.

* * *

Hibiki took the silver haired teen to The Tower. Atsuki remembered coming here with Yayoi Kamishiro when they both went on a stroll that one time. He learned that this place calmed her down despite the fact that this was where the group suicide took place. Ignoring that fact, the flower fields that surrounded the tower made it look beautiful and different from other towers.

"We always went here after school..." The ex-PHALANX member began explaining more to himself than Atsuki. "Kotobi, Serena and I would drive sis crazy coming here. As long as we were with Serena, Kotobi and I were fine. But Kotoru was always so overprotective of her girlfriend. It was like she was the world to her...but..."

The two continued to walk into the flower fields. They were more beautiful up close.

"When her world was taken from her, everything became dark to her..."

"Kiryu..."

"She had a hard time opening up again. No matter what we did, no one could snap her out of her depression. But then Sano came into her life and helped her back onto her feet. I really don't know how he did it, but she went back to her original self before Kotobi was murdered..." He bent down as he picked a white daisy from the fields. "I couldn't believe it...a total stranger just appeared out of nowhere and put the pieces back together. Honoka was grateful. The La Corda Band accepted him as a cherished friend and even Serena began to speak to him like a friend. I wanted to be the one to save Kotoru from her despair...and...that's why..."

"You left Kisaragi to go to America." Atsuki finished putting the story together.

"At first, I wanted to avoid Kotoru for that incident in school, but when I met Edward, I realized that I wanted power to defend the people I love. I was willing to get infected by Silent to gain that power...but you know the rest of the story."

Atsuki smiled faintly when he realized that Hibiki was revealing his side of the story to him. Hibiki wasn't as selfish as the silver haired teen thought. He truly was a well-intentioned extremist. "You're more than okay now."

It was Hibiki's turn to be confused. "Huh?"

Atsuki shook his head. "It's nothing."

Hibiki pouted again. "Well that's annoying..."

As he turned to walk the other direction, he froze in spot when he noticed someone from a distance. Atsuki knew why the cyan haired teen wanted to go hide. It was that bitch Rinse Higushi, the biggest manipulated bitch in the school. The pink haired teen had her three henchmen: Kenny the blonde American and right hand man. Arai, the big, stupid thug that did whatever Rinse told him to do and Zepher, the smart but quiet student that did care for the people he hurt, but chose not to speak out. They were heading their way.

"Oh, it's Hibiki Kiryu!" She squealed in delight. He instantly backed up. "What a coincidence to meet you today? I wonder what you were planning to do here. Plan a double suicide?"

"Funny, I thought the same thing when I see you and your male posies." Hibiki murmured darkly.

"What? I can't hear you!"

Atsuki realized that the situation was getting worse by the second. Nobody was here this early in the morning, so no adult would be able to stop them from getting hurt.

"Oh Rinse, I think he's trying to stand up to you." Kenny told her. His speech was rather slurred for being a foreigner.

"Really now? If I remember correctly, anyone who stands up to me will be punished!"

It was a mixture of blue and purple shinen. Atsuki felt like he had to do something before Hibiki got hurt. But what could he do?

Arai stepped in front of his master and smirked evilly.

"It's clobbering time." He said simply as he prepared to punch the cyan haired teen.

"No..."

Atsuki had the choice to either pull the ex-PHALANX member out of the way or just receive the punch. Not thinking of the consequences, he decided to pull an Akira on them as he stepped in front of Hibiki to take the blow. To his surprise, he didn't flinch when he felt those big knuckles connect to his forehead.

"Atsuki!" He heard Hibiki cry out.

Rinse was the only one that seemed amused at the new turn of events. "Oh my? Who did my boy hit? Trash maybe?"

Atsuki said nothing as he glared at Arai. His glare must have been more intimidating than usual because Arai was frozen in fear. He stepped back toward his master. The silver haired teen could see that Zepher was stunned at what Atsuki just did.

"Please reframe yourself from hurting my friends in front of me. Otherwise, I might make your life more miserable."

He was pissed. He didn't take well to people who hurt others for their own amusement. The FORT member noticed that Kenny was starting to shake. Whatever he was doing was scaring them. Rinse was affected but she kept a strong front.

"You're a freak." She told him simply. "What could you possibly do to me?"

"Unimaginable things to your mind..." Atsuki muttered in a dark tone.

Zepher spoke. "Rinse, don't do this now. With no witnesses here, we can't prove our innocence if we continue."

"That's why we hurt them now."

"Rinse!"

Rinse snarled back at Atsuki. When she looked into his eyes, she began to shiver as well. "Fine, I'll leave you two alone. Brother of that bitch, you were lucky today, but next time, I'll get you both."

The pink haired teen and her thugs fled. However, Zepher left a first aid kit began knowing that something like this was going to happen. When the four were out of their sight, the silver haired teen managed to calm down.

"Atsuki..."

Turning around to smile at the other didn't work so well. He seemed just as freaked out as the bullies.

"You activated Lux Pain..." Hibiki whispered, "And to top it off, you're bleeding..."

The first part seemed to freak the telepath out. "W-What?" He looked at his arm and sure enough, he still had those strange black markings on them. If he still had the markings, then his eye was still gold. If his eyes were mismatched suddenly, then it would only be natural for fearful people to panic. "Shit..." He quickly deactivated Lux Pain and just like that, he suddenly felt exhausted. He collapsed to the ground as he tried to catch his breathe.

"Don't move." Hibiki ordered him as he went to get the first aid that Zepher dropped. "You're injured."

Atsuki touched his forehead with his hand and moved it back down. Sure enough, red liquid was on his hands. The cyan haired teen got out the bandage and began wrapping it around Atsuki's forehead. The silver haired teen sighed. "You're doing it wrong."

"Eh?"

"You're supposed to use alcohol to stop the bleeding before wrapping it up."

For a second, Atsuki thought Hibiki was cute when he blushed. It was rare after all to see him flustered.

"I-I knew that!"

The cyan haired teen quickly poured alcohol on a cotton ball in the first aid kit and quickly padded it on the telepath's forehead. Atsuki flinched when the content came in contact with him.

"How's the wound?"

"...I can see where the knuckles hit you..." Hibiki mumbled.

"That must be serious."

Hibiki said nothing as he managed to stop the bleeding. He then wrapped the bandages on the other's forehead and tied it up.

"I'm sorry..."

"Don't apologize. I didn't like them anyway...well...Sakura is an exception."

"I'm sorry..." Hibiki repeated. "You got hurt because of me...everyone gets hurt because of me..."

"I wouldn't say that."

"It's true though!" The sudden outburst caused the FORT member to cover his ears. "Because of me, Kotobi died! Because of me, Fuyumi-san is being harassed by that bitch! Because of me..."

Atsuki let out another irritable sigh. "Shut up. It's not your fault for any of that."

"...You haven't been here for long Atsuki..."

Atsuki noticed that the honorifics were dropped completely. "I think I do know."

"Oh really? Prove it."

"I think Honoka has already given me enough info about you, so stop blaming yourself for everything."

Again the cyan haired teen was surprised. He frowned again. "But...you didn't have to shield me...I could have dodged him."

"You might have been able to, but I felt like protecting you at that moment." Atsuki told him. He was enjoying seeing Hibiki look red as a tomato. "When four people tell me to look after you, it's hard to ignore their request."

He was referring to Ryo, Honoka, Kotoru and Serena. They all know that Hibiki can be reckless at times and he needs someone level headed to save him.

"I see..."

Atsuki stood up. He was still dizzy from the punch but he would survive. "You weren't done showing me around."

Hibiki nodded his head in agreement as he started to stand.

"Lets not think about Higushi and her thugs for now and just enjoy ourselves."

"But..."

Atsuki couldn't help but pat the other teen on the head. "Don't worry, if they were to bug us again whether it's at school or outside of it, I'll protect you. I'll even have Akira back me up."

They couldn't have a conversation without mentioning the martial artist. Regardless, Hibiki gave a warm smile to the FORT member. "Thanks Atsuki."

* * *

Atsuki had to admit that out of all the friends he hung out with, Hibiki probably gave them all a run for their money. The two telepath's ended up wondering around the whole town for most of the day going to. The fun they had arranged from playing arcade games at TOYBOX (which Atsuki pwned at Marvel vs. Capcom 2 as usual) to annoying the heck out of the music Kouji Kanazawa when he was trying to ask the father of the St. Maria Church as well as the new math teacher Calum Archard out. The silver haired teen got annoyed when Hibiki used his body as a shield against the teacher but Calum thought it was amusing. Thankfully, Serena appeared and Kouji switched his attention from the two high students to the single middle school student.

The cyan haired teen wanted to go to Club Royal after all they did but Atsuki had to decline. He did not want to see any strippers in that club when they were trying to eat. Hibiki's alternative restaurant he wanted to go to was Tomatsu's. Atsuki remembered Rui talking about Tomatsu and his restaurant the first time he was introduced to Ryo.

The transfer student only rolled his eyes when he realized that he was going to have to pay instead of the other way around.  _That bastard..._

To make matters worse, Hibiki ordered all the expensive food for take outs. When Tomatsu wasn't looking, Atsuki took one of the chop-sticks from the jar on the counter and proceeded to stab the cyan haired teen with it. Let's just say, it didn't go well and Atsuki had to pay extra.

"Yay, Chinese!" The ex-PHALANX cheered as he waved the plastic bag in the air.

"I'm going to murder you in your sleep..." Atsuki murmured darkly.

"Ah, come on Atsuki-chan. You know the food smells good."

"FORT doesn't give me that much money..."

"I know you mooch off of your friends, but that's not going to work for me."

"Dick..."

* * *

The two headed toward Rainbow Hill where they would eat their food. Atsuki didn't understand why they didn't eat at Tohodo with Ryo but Hibiki insisted that the bookworm starved for the day for mistreating them in the morning.

It was sunset now so Rainbow Hill proved to Atsuki why it was such a beautiful sight in Kisaragi to eat at. Most of his friends tended to take him here at the end of the day after hanging out saying things like if two people stay together in the sunset, they would fall in love...or something like that...

Atsuki turned to the shorter teen as he struggled with untying the bag. To think that a genius like him would have problems with opening a bag; of course Hibiki noticed that Atsuki was giving him that piercing stare and sighed. "I usually ask Serena to do this for me."

"...Can't you do something this simple on your own?"

"Heh heh heh...apparently not..."

"This isn't a laughing matter." Atsuki told him harshly as he opened the bag for him. "There, happy now?"

"Aww, you didn't have to."

He says this with a sadistic grin and Atsuki realized that he had fallen for another trap.

"So the yakisoba and crush yours?"

Hibiki instantly snatched his food as his answer.

_Jerk._  Atsuki cursed to himself as he took his food. He ordered the special of the day which he had to admit was more expensive then the other's simple order. Maybe he exaggerated when he said that Hibiki purposely ordered the most expensive thing on the menu. Didn't change the fact that getting a soda was expensive at that restaurant, so he just prearranged for a water bottle, and he didn't spend that much money as he thought.

Just the two of them eating in front of the setting sun might confuse many of the people that were still on the hill but it didn't matter. It was just two friends (or rivals) eating a meal on a peaceful day.

The FORT member noticed that Hibiki stopped eating as fast as he had started. "What's wrong?"

"Eh? Oh...it's nothing. I was just thinking..."

"...I told you not to think of that Higushi. Does she really leave a scar?"

"Yeah..."

Atsuki didn't like how the other telepath's mood suddenly dropped. "What's wrong?"

"What she said...I'm really worried..."

"I'll be fine, and I won't let them hurt you." Atsuki replied way too quickly, which wasn't like him.

The cyan haired teen blushed as he shook his head. "I'm not worried myself and I'm definitely not worried about you. I'm worried about sis..."

"...Now that you mention it, Higushi did call her a bitch. Why would she?"

"It's my fault..." Hibiki began again in a sorrowful tone as he twirled his fork around. "Kotobi's death was my fault no matter what you say. Kotoru became a ticking time-bomb when she died. It didn't help that Calum cursed her out for the inevitable. Higushi's older sister is the same age as Kotoru. She like her younger sister tormented her classmates but her method wasn't as bad or humiliating...after all, she only insulted Kotoru and Kotobi for her homophobia. She detonated the rage that sis felt for not being able to protect her girlfriend and..."

Hibiki stopped talking instantly. Atsuki instantly noticed the purple shinen of fear swirling in his heart.

"She took her sword and almost beat the poor girl to death."

He was shaking after saying that sentence. Atsuki wanted to comfort him, but he still had no idea how to do that.

"The poor girl's face is unrecognizable now...she had to go through plastic surgery to repair it...and what's worse is that my sister felt so bad after that. The principle is a bastard though. He thought it would be better if she didn't get expelled for nearly killing someone, so he let her off the hook with three days of in school suspension."

"That's...horrible..."

"She scared everyone that day...while it got better...it didn't change that everyone knew that Kotoru was not punished for a crime she committed. They isolated themselves from her, and her mental state was becoming worse after letting her anger out. I know she was infected by Silent back then, but I couldn't do anything for her...so I ran away because...I was scared of her too..."

Atsuki didn't have to ask why the student in front of him who was overprotective of his elder sister fearful of her last year. The cyan haired teen slowly placed his food to the side of the bench where they were sitting on as he slowly removed his coat. He pulled up the back of his shirt and shivered. Atsuki's eyes widened in horror when he examined the other's back. There was a huge scar on his back. While it seemed to have faded over time, some of his skin was still torn off.

"I tried to stop her..." Hibiki continued as he let go of his shirt and let it cover his injury. "Sanguine told me that Kotoru snapped and I rushed to help Higushi's sister...despite the fact that she started it...but sis didn't recognize me when I tried to break up the fight..."

"And she slashed you in the back?"

He continued to tremble. "I didn't think she would do such a thing, but Silent can mess up a person's personality greatly. I know that the La Corda Band and Ryo calmed her down, but my trust in her was gone that moment...that's why I took Yamato's request to study aboard in America. I wanted to get away from her. I was so scared thinking that she would try to kill me in the middle of the night that I couldn't stand it...so I didn't tell Ryo or Honoka about my departure because I wanted to handle this on my own..." The ex-PHALANX member put his lab coat back on as he stared at the sunset. "I'm a failure for causing this..."

"Kiryu..."

He forced himself to smile. "I was jealous of Kotobi and it lead to her death. It lead to Kotoru's insanity...and it almost lead me to my ruin. I wonder if there was something good that came out of this..."

Hibiki was expecting an answer despite his mood. Atsuki realized that what he said might affect him forever.

_There were good things that came out of this experience._  Atsuki thought to himself.  _It helped him become a stronger and it allowed Kotoru to meet Sano and start her life over again._  One answer was appropriate now and the other could be said at another date.

"Hibiki, I think this event was important." Atsuki didn't realize that he called the other by his first name but he didn't notice, so he continued. "You're a stronger person now."

"Huh? I don't get where you're getting at..."

"You revealed your true personality to someone you did care about. While it may result in her death, it allowed you to gain a scar that would remind you of your mistakes. Even though going to America is childish, you did realize your mistakes while you were over there. You thought you came back stronger, but you were still weak. Only when one is in a near death situation is when they will realize their mistakes and make up for it in the end."

"..."

"You did save Kotoru when I first met her, remember? That shows improvement."

Hibiki could only sigh. "You're so stupid Atsuki..."

Atsuki seemed confused. He thought he gave him the right answer.

"You tell me stuff that I already know and it only pisses me off..." Hibiki went to pick up his food again. "But when you say it, I can forgive myself for my weakness more easily."

Before he knew what happened, Atsuki found his face sprayed with orange fizz. He realized that Hibiki didn't even open his soda can and when he did, he just had to open it in his direction.

"Kiryu..."

Hibiki could only laugh when he saw Atsuki stand up and shaking his water bottle.

"You bastard!"

Atsuki tried to splash water on him but Hibiki was already off the bench and running to his safe pen (which was Tohodo.) He took his and Atsuki's food from him and only someone with a great amount of speed could do that. Atsuki ended up chasing the other telepath all the way back to Tohodo.

When Ryo saw them fighting when they reached his doorstep of the store, he just shook his head in annoyance as he took their food. There were no more customers that day so he didn't have to suffer from embarrassment. At least Atsuki accomplished something today that everyone else failed to do.

_Thank you Saijo for bringing the smile back on Kiryu's face...he really needed to let loose._

**Author's Note:**

> Me: Done with 5187 words.
> 
> Well, at least you know most of Kotoru's backstory, so if any character mentions it in other stories, be sure to refer to this story. Regardless, when I think of the Tomatsu person that Rui refers to at the beginning of the game, I'm thinking of a Chinese restaurant. Ja ne!


End file.
